Work Text:
The gentle dawn embraced the dusk as the moon departed from the horizon. The warm rays of the sun softly kissing the sea as she rises, leaving spots of golden light across the ripples of morning tides. Cyans and yellows blend across the scene in a gorgeous display. The sunrise was slow in a graceful way, coming naturally to greet the harbor with gentle rays of sunlight to awaken the harbor. She smiled to herself as her brush glided across the page held tightly in her hand. Leaning on the railing of her ship, she couldn’t help but allow the rush of tranquility the morning sky kindly gifted her while painting.
The earliest hours of the day are when Jagae would comfortably enjoy her art. But between her duties of delivering goods to her clients, managing her crew to ensure one of them wouldn’t fall overboard, and settling trade disputes between merchants, her passion often had to take a back seat until they were finished. And as much as she loved her trading and sailing, it could easily be exhausting. But at the end of the day when she could retire from the workload, she found the burden of work stress eased when she began sketching the familiar horizons and landscapes of the harbors she frequented and visited. Something about capturing the beauty of the kingdoms she traveled to always managed to put her at ease.
“Captain Jagae!” A member of her crew called loudly. It came suddenly, sending a quick jolt of fear through her as she quickly hid the sketchpad coat. She turned as if nothing happened.
“Alright! Take the bulk shipments and deliver them to the western port. We don’t want to waste time now do we?” She announced as several sailors nodded, beginning to execute her orders with drive. She sighed as she watched them move so efficiently. She took pride in what she does. She doesn’t like to take full credit, as the crew of course full their own weight. But she created this mostly at her own hands. Through grit and strength that collided with harsh training and fierce storm, out grew the resilience she needed to become a leader her guild deserved.
In her earliest of days working small menial jobs at the harbor, she quickly gained the admiration and trust of several sailors in her hometown. Quickly she climbed the ranks and soon become a well respected Guildmaster of the Shine Shell Guild, one she foraged with her own crispy hands. At her age, she knew some doubted her abilities. Claimed that her dreams seemed rather ambitious, impulsive and unachievable for someone of her age. But she never listened, not once. Her unwavering sense of responsibility and her sheer unwillingness to fail got her where she is today, and she will fight hard to keep it that way.
…Even if it gets a little exhausting. It’s not like she is unused to the tiresome points of her career. She gets it, and that’s what she loves about it. It challenges her daily to be at her best and to make her customers satisfied. But even then, it can get a bit draining and tricky to manage. And hey, even a tough and stoic captain like herself needed a break every now and then. Which is how she found herself painting. Creating colorful sketches and drawings always managed to bring a soft smile to her face. She had done it for years, always finding new inspiration across the harbors she went too. But despite this, she always felt a part of her needed to hide it. She would tuck her sketches deep in the pockets of her jeogori whenever a crew member walked by, or would bury even her favored paintings deep beneath the many layers of ledgers in her desk drawers. As much as she loved it, she couldn’t help but feel it was a silly hobby, something for soft breads to indulge in. Not a responsible and strong sailor like her.
And she didn't even want to think about how her competition or customers might think of her if they knew. In a workforce filled of coarse and strong sailors, with scars that reflected years of work and confidence only decades of experience could muster, she couldn't imagine how they might react if her secret spilled to the public. How a specific fox might react. His smug smile laughing mockingly. She hated the image of title headlines in bold print reading out how a strong sailor like her revealed to be a soft bread inside. She scoffed herself, quickly shaking the invasive thought aside. No wallowing in her own anxiety, she had better things to do.
So she continued work throughout the rest of the day like she normally would. She guided her crew and delivering her shipments like she normally would. Of course there would always be the occasional trade argument or pricing fueds of course, but otherwise it seemed like a pretty easy day.
So easy that she allowed herself a small break inbetween guild meetings. She lowered herself onto a nearby bench out looking the vast ocean view. A soft smile traced her face as she breathed out a sigh of contentment she didn't know she held, as if a a small weight lifted off her shoulders. Carefully and as discreetly one could manage, she pulled back out the small notepad she had earlier and flipped to an empty page, tearing it out. She allowed herself wrist full control as she traced out the scenery with a rather worn pencil gripped carfully in her palm. Soon, the open landscape became to come to life vividly. The rocky terrain hidden carefully tucked behind the familiar pale yellow beaches gaining a feel of chapped texture through uneven strokes. Even without color, she could admit it was kind of nice. Possibly one of her better works in a while, she thought to herself as her fingers grazed the page, feeling the grooved lines her pencil made. She smiled softly, fully admiring the scenery and her own work, so much so she didn't properly register the faint shadow casted behind her that grew larger. A faint chuckle caught her attention.
"My Madame Jagae, isn't it unprofessional to slack off during work hours?" he laughed as a sneer tugged at his lips. She didn't even turn to look at him as she hide the sketchpad underneath her forearm, paper crumbling in her sleeve. The growing scowl on her face becoming evident.
"Same could be said for you, Mandu," Jagae quickly spat, waving her hand over her shoulder in a shooing motion. "Don't you have some other sailor to brother, Fox?" Manju cookie only let out a quick chuckle as he twirled his Kiseru in his hands. A thick waft of the red bean scent invading her senses. She swatted her hand infront of her nose to bat it away, but unfortunately he mistook it for an invitation to break and enter into her personal space on the bench.
"It seems I don't when I have to keep tutoring you on how to get my name correct," his ear flicked impatiently as the word rang in his head like an unfortunately whistle. He crossed his legs as he shifted closer. "Seriously, how hard is it for you to pronounce things correctly?"
"It isn't. I just don't bother remembering those of little significance," she taunted with a soft huff. She could feel her patience begin to thin quickly like dissolving salt beneath his mocking gaze. Like kelp attaching itself to the hooks of anchors. A pest who seemingly never left, no matter how hard you tried. Manju was about to roll his eyes, until a small sheet of paper caught his attention. A small crumped corner just beneath, poking out like driftwood at sea.
Jagae finally glanced up, expecting an equally bitter jab in return. But all she found was him staring so intently at her side. She froze for a quick second, but recovered quickly as she maneuvering her arm further behind her. Manju noticed, looking up to meet her grimace.
"What's that your hiding, miss Jagae?" He curiously asked, leaning forward to possibly catch a glimpse of it once more. A frustrated sound escaped from her as she quickly stood, her face slightly red from what he could only assume to be anger.
"Mind your own business, Mandu cookie!" Her voice raised an octave as she scolded him, gesturing wildly with one hand while the other remained fiercely gripped on the loose page and notepad under her arm. Manju nodded along like he was paying attention, which he more than likely wasn't. She blew a fuse with him at least once a day, so her shouting in frustration in his face was something he had grown rather accustomed too. What he hadn't is the slightly gray dusted ends of her fingers. Rather strange, but plenty reasonable theories could answer such a phenomenon. One he didn't seem to keen on solving as he watched Jagae march back to her own ship, quietly cursing under her breath.
He sighed, slowly standing up. An odd woman she is, he heard himself mutter. He had grown accustomed to this, so watching the familiar sight of her storming off in anger didn't surprise him one bit. But a small part of him nipped at the suspicion beginning to brew in his chest. She didn't normally tuck away ledgers like it was top secret information. And she also didn't normally allow said ledger to slowly flutter out unbeknownst to her and onto the ground, a fortunate pole from the harbor rails blocking its path from falling directly into the ocean. Though considering how she quickly hid it away from not just him, but her crews, she probobly would have preferred it drown.
The reasonable part had been shouting in his ear about doing the moral thing and return it to her. Or maybe simply kick it aside and allow it to drown. If Jagae was the one keeping it secret, she probably wouldn't want it seen by someone like him, someone she seemed so prideful in deeming a formidable rival of course. Yet a devilish side of him couldn't shake the nagging feeling he should read it. Or more accurately, he wanted too. His curiosity felt as if it were burning a hole in his head from thinking about it.
After a while of hesitating, he finally sighed and carfully approached the sheet. And once he picked it up, it was as if his breath became trapped in his chest. His eyes widened as he analyzed the paper. This wasn't a ledger, but a beautiful impressionistic art piece delicately crafted with graphite in a flawless display. For a piece so simple, it was growgous. Manju couldn't help but softly smile to himself while annoying the fine details. He found several thoughts taking up space in his head. Why hadn't she mentioned this? To be fair, she probably wouldn't admit a talent like this to her rival of all people. But a talent like this he wouldn't think he hidden from the rest of the world. I mean, he himself was very open about his passion and talents with perfumery. And he was incredible about it, not shy to hide it at all. He practically waves his kiseru around like a first prize trophy shining with pride.
But of course, Jagae was more secretive about her personal life. She wasn't one to show off or flaunt her abilities. There were few things she allowed people to see leave her strong leader persona. Even then she was just as selective to those who saw it. But this? Manju had seen extrodinary artists across all of earthbread, some of the finest of all time. But Jagae's talent felt so alive, so warm and natural. Something that radiated passion from every pencil stroke he saw tracing faint outlines of the sea and stones.
If this incredible sketch had such little value that she allowed it to be unnoticed and almost sink in the salty ocean water, it wouldn't be wrong to assume she had more somewhere aboard her ship. So she wouldn't need this back any time soon, if ever. But even if she considered it worth less than the underside of her boots, he saw something in it. Even if she didn't.
…
'Finally..' Jagae thought to herself as her legs loosened, practically collapsing to lean against the familiar Creme republic railings out looking the vast ocean. The sun had finished its work of radiating across the sky, making way for the moon to illuminate the sky. The delicate blue hues laying amongst the scattered stars created what she saw a perfect moment to capture with her pallet. Her first mistake was not checking around to ensure she was alone, getting to comfortable with the silence.
She heard the footsteps before the scoff could leave her throat. She could even feel the gaze of a conniving fox burning into the back of her head. Of course, right when she was able to take a break for the day. He had to interrupt her once, and he would gladly take the opportunity to do it again. she barley had time to turn around when she heard his voice speak.
"So we meet again, Madame Jagae," he teased, his voice filled with a cheeky tone. She raised and eyebrow.
"I would prefer we don't, Mandu cookie." She huffed, beginning to stand up, only to find the fox standing smugly in front of her. If she had any patience now, it would have been extremely close to withering away completely. She raised a hand to shove him aside, or she considered throwing him into the ocean. But he seemed hell bound on blocking her path, as if anticipating something.
"Beat it, Fox! I don't have time for this." Her eyebrows furrowed as a vein struggled to seize of her head. But Manju only smiled and reached into his coat pocket.
"Relax, oh dear Jagae. I only come to return something to you," his silvery voice hummed in amusement. And what he held out infront of her made her jam run cold.
The picture, lightly crumbled and adorning faint salt water stains at the edges, but still undoubtably her sketch of the western port she drew from earlier today. She was at a loss for words, any she did have desperately clawing at her throat to stay inside. She stepped back slightly, only for him to step forward again. Finally, she hesitantly pushed out a few words of horror.
"…Where did you get that." Her tone grew serious, mocking any sort of dignity she savored. Sweat beads dappling her forehead as thoughts swirled in her head. However Manju shrugged, looking completely content, eerily calm with the remnants of her secret comfortably in his hands. He neatly smooth the wrinkles from the sheet and faced it towards himself. She observed his expression, bracing herself for the wave of mocking insults and blackmail she assumed would come, but it never came. All she saw was an intrigued look, but with softened edges and a faint glint in his eye. He finally looked back at her, his tone lowering ever so softly.
"I think it's beautiful." She paused. The words sounding so foreign to her. Jagae admittedly had a hard time processing what he said, as if something was wedged in the gears of her head struggling to move. Manju didn't wait patiently, as he began to speak before she could utter a breath.
"I never thought to take you as an artist, Jagae." His hips swayed as if he was saying the most casual thing in the world, unfortunately not helping Jagae's situation of her brain airing out smoke from her mind, still shaken and bewildered by this scene. There was a beat of silence between them. An unfortunate amount of eye contact being held the entire time. Manju patiently waited for her response, it dawning on him what he had said and how she could very easily destroy him if she desired. He watched as her eyes looked at him, then at the paper, then back at him in a continued cycle. After what felt like an hour of sitting in silence, she spoke.
"Don't tell anyone." Her voice became stern, slightly catching him off quard. He tilted his head slightly in confusion.
"Why? This is beautiful. Anyone would love to see this," he insured while holding the sketch out for her to see, but she pushed it aside, sighing softly.
"That's stupid. Of course they wouldn't." She scoffed. "Just- just give me that!" Her hands reached above his head and past his shoulder to try and snatch the paper away, only for him to raise it above her. His hand twilirng around her agile movements to keep the drawings secure. She occasionally stepped in his foot, throwing herself forward to lunge for it, but Manju dodged them. He put his hand forward to her chest to hold her back momentarily.
"Calm down, I'm just saying it's a nice drawing!"
"Keep your voice down! " she whispered though her teeth, still reaching.
"Why, are you embarrassed by it?" His tone laced with a teaisng attitude, which got Jagae to pause. Her face scrunched uncomfortably. Manju's eyes widened. Ah, of course. That explains it. He finally held out the drawing for her, allowing her to take it, but for once she hesitated, as if fearful now that he figured out her reasoning behind it. Manju softened slightly, keeping his tone genuine.
"It is a beautiful piece, Jagae." He smiled softly. His eyes half lidded. "Frankly I don't know why you’re embarrassed by it. I am truthful when I say people would admire it. Especially your crew." His thumb stroked the page, running over the grooves and dents made by her pencil cross hatching across the page.
Jagae was taken aback by his words. It was clearly odd hearing seem so…sincere. Treasuring the art as if it were sacred. It couldn't have been that good so much so that Manju insisted her crew would like it, let alone the rest of the harbor. A part of her assumed it was a trick. A cruel prank to lead her into her own blackmail. But she saw how he looked at the work, words of praise and a gaze of awe lacing his gaze. She was conflicted, one side pushing her beliefs it was nothing more than a silly hobby, and the words of this annoyingly sincere fox whose tail gently wagged behind his legs.
She sighed, finally meeting his gaze. She grumbled. A red hue growing on her cheeks She did considered snatching the paper away, chucking it into the sea and ditching as fast as her legs allowed. But she didn't. Instead, she just pushed the drawing back into his chest. His ears went up slightly as his gripped tightened around the edges of the paper. The hue grew deeper as she amazed his expression.
"I don't care what you do with it..just get rid of it." She let out a slightly wobbly breath, very likely due to embarrassment. Manju slightly flushed, feeling his tail wag faster at her words.
"Are you insinuating I keep it?" His teasing smile returned. Jagae waved her hand dismissively, trying to turn away before the warmth invaded her face fully, practaully inviting the swarm of butterflies beginning to show. She shrugged it off, barley making any attempt at eye contact or dismissal as she turned on her heel to leave, only to find a hand softly gripping her wrist. She turned to see Manju's awed expression looking into her eyes with a jopeful smile.
"Thank you, truly." He murmured quietly. She sworn to herself she didn't see the pink hue adorning his cheeks, but didn't put to much thought into it in fear her fluster would get the better of her. And worst of all, it took him a minute to long to fully let go of her wrist. And once he let go, both felt that their hands felt slightly colder than before. As she started to walk back, she paused, meeting his gaze once more.
"Did you mean it?" She asked quizzically. Manju took a quick glance to the landscape drawing in his hands, then back at her. A familiar smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"I did." He replied. "Every word of it."
And just like that, he turned to leave, quickly making his way into the depths of his shop, leaving Jagae alone as she walked back to her ship, now with a newfound feeling of pride in her chest, for something she once deemed nothing more than a niche hobby.
…
As the famailar sun arose, peeking above the horizon to shine across the ocean tides, Jagae leaned on the rails of her ships. Like before, her pen freely glided across the page effortlessly to capture the rising sun. It wasn't to long later that a crew member called her name and appeared at her side. They peeked over to see, and Jagae didn't immediately try to tuck it inbetween her arm. She allowed it, albeit with a bit of a wall held high just in case. But the sailors eyes widened, an awestruck expression in their face.
"Captain! I didn't know you could draw!" Their voice raised in excitement, catching the attention of the rest of her crew members. She awkwardly chuckled as they swarmed to take a peak, each one gaining the same upbeat expression while praise flooded around her.
"Captain! This is beautiful!" One beamed happily, pointing at the page like it was a sacred treasure amongst stones.
"Why didn't you tell us!" Another cupped their own cheeks as they smiled.
She laughed softly, hiding the page slightly close to her chest in embarrassment.
"It's just a sketch, nothing impressive,” she waved it off, which the rest of her crew had other ideas, bombarding her with loving praise and affection.
Manju watched happily from the window of his captains quarters on his ship. He softly smiled, watching the way her smile grew as she laughed through bashfulness and pride. As he waltzed away from the window to take on the day, he passes by a newly framed photo sitting nearby on a small end table. In an elegant wood frame rested Jagae's sketch, carfully preserved like it was a delicacy. And to him, it was. He felt a sense of comfort knowing he had a piece of Jagae's beloved passion in his grasp, giving insight to her complex character.
He smiled, praising the work once more in his head. Truly a masterpiece to him, and just about anyone who saw it. He was sure of it.